Mobile Watering Device

ABSTRACT

A mobile outdoor watering device. The device includes a base frame with wheels, a mounted water sprinkling element, and an elongated handle connected to the base frame. The handle comprises a water conduit and an adjustable valve for controlling the flow of water to the sprinkling element. An elbow pipe with a timer shut-off valve is connected to the handle on one side and water hose on the other side.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to plant watering devices, and moreparticularly to portable outdoor watering devices.

2. Description of Related Art

Portable outdoor watering devices are well known. The most frequentlyused portable watering devices include sprinklers that are connected toa standard garden hose and manually placed in areas of a lawn or gardenthat require watering. More sophisticated portable sprinklers provideadjustable water flow and selective coverage, thus reducing wastingwater and allowing for watering irregularly shaped yards. However, whenwatering large lawns, portable sprinklers must be picked up and carriedor pulled to another part of the lawn, which often involves dirtying thehands while pulling along a water hose. Furthermore, an operator caneasily get soaked while adjusting the spraying coverage, and fine tuningoften necessitates multiple trips out into the drenched lawn.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a mobile outdoor watering device.In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises a base frame with a setof wheels mounted on the opposite sides of the frame. A sprinklingelement is mounted on the base frame between the wheels. An elongatedhandle is connected to the base frame for moving the device. The handlealso comprises an adjustable valve for controlling the flow of water,and a water conduit for delivering water to the mounted sprinklingelement. The valve is located on the handle end opposite the base frame.An elbow pipe is connected to the handle proximate to the adjustablevalve. The elbow pipe includes a timer shut-off valve for closing thewater supply after a set period of time.

Additional aspects of the invention, together with the advantages andnovel features appurtenant thereto, will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows, and in part will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learnedfrom the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of theinvention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalitiesand combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a watering device according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device of FIG. 1, showing the baseframe, the water sprinkling element, and the wheels;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the device of FIG. 1 resting on the ground in ahorizontal position; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device of FIG. 1 in a vertical position foradjusting its settings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A watering device in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention is depicted in FIGS. 1 through 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, watering device 10, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention comprises a base frame 12, twowheels 14 rotatably mounted on axles 24, a water sprinkling element 16,and a handle 18. Handle 18 comprises a water conduit and an adjustablevalve 26 for manually controlling the flow of water to sprinkler tube30. An elbow shaped pipe 32 is coupled to a garden hose fitting 22 atthe top end of handle 18 on one side, and a garden hose 34 one the otherside. Elbow shaped pipe 32 comprises a timer shut-off valve 28 forshutting off the water supply after a set period of time.

In one embodiment, base frame 12 is made of metal and has asubstantially rectangular shape. Axles 24 are connected to the twoshorter opposite sides of base frame 12, and comprise bushings ontowhich plastic wheels 14 are rotatably mounted. A front edge 13 of baseframe 12 extends beyond the periphery of wheels 14, thus providing astationary resting point when device 10 is in substantially verticalposition relative to the ground surface, as depicted in FIG. 4.

Handle 18 is perpendicularly connected to the side of frame 12 oppositefront edge 13, thus allowing the device to be easily pushed or pulled byhandle 18. Handle 18 is made of metal, and comprises a water conduit fordelivering water from hose 34 to a water conduit 20. Water conduit 20 inturn delivers water to sprinkling element 16, which is mounted on baseframe 12 between wheels 14.

In this embodiment, sprinkling element 16 comprises a sprinkler tube 30with a plurality of holes for releasing water onto a plant. Anoscillating mechanism 36 is powered by water pressure causing sprinklertube 30 to oscillate back and forth, thus watering a substantiallyrectangular area. A knob 38 on oscillating mechanism 36 is used foradjusting the spray pattern (e.g., full (180° arc), center (stationary),left (90°) or right (90°)).

An adjustable valve 26 is located at the top end of handle 18. Valve 26is a trigger squeeze valve that controls the flow of water in proportionto pressure exerted on the trigger by the operator. The trigger of valve26 can also be locked in a desired position, allowing the operator toleave after making adjustments to the flow of water.

As depicted in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, elbow 32 comprises timer shut-offvalve 28 for automatically turning off the water supply after a setperiod of time. Timer 28 is preferably a mechanical timer with a dialfor setting the period of time during which the valve will remain open.During the operation, the dial rotates indicating the time remaining forwatering. When the dial aligns with zero, the valve shuts off the watersupply to sprinkling element 16.

As depicted in FIG. 4, elbow 32 provides support to device 10 whilepreserving an unobstructed flow of water. Absent elbow 32, handle 18would rest on hose 34, causing hose 34 to bend at the ground level,which would further result in decreased or irregular water flow, kinkingof hose 34, and would ultimately damage hose 34. Furthermore, elbow 32is adapted to support both handle 18 and base frame 12 in substantiallyhorizontal positions, allowing sprinkling element 16 to provide equalwatering of areas in front and in back of base frame 12.

Prior to using the watering device, the operator connects hose 34 toelbow pipe 32, closes valve 26, and releases water into hose 34. Theoperator then rolls the device, by pushing or pulling on handle 18, to alocation on the lawn or garden that requires watering. After positioningthe device, the operator adjusts the sprinkling range and direction ofsprinkling element 16 via control knob 38 to accommodate the shape ofthe area that needs to be watered. The dial of timer 28 is adjusted toindicate the desired time period for watering. As depicted in FIG. 4,adjusting spray settings can be done by bringing handle 18 into avertical position, causing wheels 14 to lift from the ground as device10 rests on front edge 13 of base frame 12. Device 10 is thus securedfrom rolling away as the operator adjusts the settings of sprinklingelement 16. After adjusting sprinkler element settings, the operatorlays handle 18 parallel to the ground, opens valve 26, and adjusts thesqueeze-trigger until the desired flow of water is achieved. Finally,the operator locks squeeze-trigger valve in place and walks away fromdevice 10.

Making adjustments during watering is easy in comparison to otherportable watering devices. For example, if the operator desires toadjust the coverage area while leaving the flow setting undisturbed, theoperator using regular watering devices would have to run to the deviceto minimize the risk of being soaked. Device 10, on the other hand,allows the operator to stay dry by keeping his distance from watersprinkling element 16 by the length of handle 18. Furthermore, theoperator can close valve 26 and take time making further adjustmentswithout fear of getting wet. After adjusting the coverage area, thewatering is resumed using the same water flow setting by simply openingvalve 26.

In a scenario where the operator desires to fine tune the flow setting,the operator is spared making several trips to and from the wateringdevice to the valve located by the house. The operator can simply reachfor adjustable valve 26 on the end of handle 18 and make the desiredcorrection in the flow of water on the spot.

Furthermore, moving device 10 to another location is easy. The operatorsimply approaches handle 18 of device 10 and quickly stops the waterflow with squeeze-trigger valve 26, without any risk of being soaked.Device 10 is then moved to another location by simply pushing or pullingthe handle in the desired direction. There is no need to separatelycollect and pull wet and often muddy water hose, since the hose willtrail the watering device 10 as the device is moved to a new location.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all ends and objectives herein-above set forth,together with the other advantages which are obvious and which areinherent to the invention.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that allmatters herein set forth are to be interpreted as illustrative, and notin a limiting sense.

While base frame 12 and handle 18 have been described as being made ofmetal, other materials or combination of materials may be used, such asdifferent types of plastic materials having sufficient sturdiness.Similarly, while wheels 14 have been described as being made of plastic,other materials or combination of materials may be used, including metaland rubber.

While base frame 12 is preferably rectangular in shape, it will beappreciated that other shapes are within the scope of the invention.

While adjustable valve 26 is preferably a trigger squeeze valve, valve26 could be a ball or a butterfly valve.

While water sprinkling element 16 has been described as being anoscillating sprinkler, other sprinkling mechanisms may be used,including rotor and impact sprinklers.

While timer shut-off valve 28 has been described as being a mechanicaltimer, other timer mechanisms may be used, including electric anddigital timers. Furthermore, while timer shut-off valve 28 has beendescribed as being used to shut off the water flow after a certainperiod of time, timer shut-off valve 28 may be adapted to open the waterflow after a specified period of time, or may be fully programmable,thus allowing for complex watering schedules.

While specific embodiments have been shown and discussed, variousmodifications may of course be made, and the invention is not limited tothe specific forms or arrangement of parts and steps described herein,except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims.Further, it will be understood that certain features and subcombinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope ofthe claims.

1. A mobile outdoor watering device for use with a garden hose, said device comprising: a base frame; a wheel rotatably coupled to said base frame for moving said base frame over the ground; a water sprinkling element mounted on said base frame for directing water onto a plant; an elongated handle coupled with said base frame and comprising a water conduit in fluid communication with said sprinkling element; and a garden hose fitting coupled with said handle at the top end of said handle for coupling said device to said garden hose.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising an axle coupled to said base frame for providing support to said base frame for moving over the ground, and wherein said wheel comprises at least two wheels mounted on said axle.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein said sprinkling element is mounted on said base frame between said wheels.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein said handle includes an adjustable valve in fluid communication with said water conduit for regulating the flow of the water.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein said adjustable valve is a squeeze-trigger valve.
 6. The device of claim 1, further comprising an elbow shaped pipe in fluid communication with said water conduit, wherein said pipe is proximate to said garden hose fitting, and wherein said pipe is adapted to support said handle and said base frame in substantially horizontal positions.
 7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a timer shut-off valve in fluid communication with said water conduit for shutting off the water flow after a set period of time.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein said water sprinkling element comprises a tube in fluid communication with said water conduit,.said tube including a plurality of holes for releasing water onto said plant. 